


April Showers Bring Fools Flowers

by SleepySsnail



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Actor Lance (Voltron), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, April Fools' Day, Artist Keith (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Crushes, Engineer Hunk (Voltron), Flowers, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Gen, Happy Ending, Keith (Voltron) is a Dork, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Lance (Voltron) Is Trying, Language of Flowers, Letters, Love Confessions, Love Letters, M/M, Minor Allura/Shiro (Voltron), Miscommunication, Oblivious Keith (Voltron), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Painting, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Keith/Lance (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Post-it Notes, Romantic Fluff, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23142745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepySsnail/pseuds/SleepySsnail
Summary: Finding a note in his campus locker was new for Keith, but then he kept getting more. From compliments about his talents and intelligence to remarks about his appearance, Keith is wary of the notes but slowly warms up to them the more heartfelt they become. With his undeniable crush on Lance growing with every interaction and his desperate need for a coffee and a nap, Keith isn't sure who to tell about the secret love letters he's been receiving. And he's not sure he wants to.With each anonymous note he gets, Keith can't help the happiness that engulfs him, and does it even come close to comparing to the feelings he has for Lance? If anything, Keith just wants to know who's been leaving him the letters and maybe ask Lance out before the end of the semester.
Relationships: Allura/Shiro (Voltron), Hunk & Keith (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith & Voltron Paladins, Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 269





	1. Love and Admiration Through a Carnation

Keith was struggling with the concept for his final exam assignment even before he got the first note.

When he first started at the college Keith didn’t think he needed to use one of the lockers, but one semester in and nightly massages from Shiro for his new shoulder pain proved him wrong. The humanities building of Altea State University was one of the only places on campus that had lockers, and even then they were mainly used by the band members with large instruments and students taking a full schedule of courses, that didn’t stop Keith from registering for one near his art classroom.

But nobody ever slipped things through the small vents in the metal door, not even from his friends, so when he found one it was new. Not bad, just unexpected.

_You’re adorable in that red flannel_

Eyeing the blue post-it resting on top of his things, Keith glanced around the hallway to see if anyone had left it. Aside from the students making their way from one class to another and the occasional professor, Keith didn’t notice anyone who was looking over at him. Shrugging at the seemingly harmless note, Keith slapped the paper in the front of his sketchbook before turning to leave, passing a wall of drawings and paintings from the art classes.

Out of everything Keith experienced that day–including a guy who argued with Professor Holt for ten minutes about his last test grade during lecture time–getting a piece of paper with a simple compliment brightened his mood. It was actually kind of nice, even if it was probably from some girl who didn’t understand or want to acknowledge the pride pin he had on his backpack. But the little piece of paper quickly left Keith’s mind as he rounded the corner and spotted Hunk, Lance, and Pidge sitting outside the theater room.

Instantly Hunk noticed Keith and threw his arm up in a wave before exclaiming, “Keith! Hi!”

“Hey,” Keith said with a small wave of his own, smirking as they tried to make room for him on the bench they shared, “How’s life?”

Groaning Pidge let her head hang before saying, “Horrible. I need you to stab me with your knife.”

“No you don’t,” Hunk chastized, worry creeping into his tone, “You’re being dramatic.”

“I thought that was Lance’s job,” Keith snorted, sparing a glance at him.

Like Keith, Lance had most of his classes near or in the humanities building, specifically acting. Keith considered taking Acting I as an elective, but he decided against it when he remembered that part of acting involved performing for the class. There were different kinds of attention, and the kind that came from standing on a stage being judged wasn’t the kind Keith enjoyed.

But Lance did enjoy showing off for the people watching him, and Keith had witnessed him rehearse enough times to know that he was a fantastic actor.

“Very funny,” Lance said, a lopsided grin forming as he looked up from the papers in his hands, “Pidge got an 89 on her anatomy test.”

“Seriously?” Keith asked, shaking his head in amusement, “I thought something bad happened.”

“It _is_ bad!” Pidge insisted, her glasses slipping down her nose as she began to rant, “I know I can do better! My professor doesn’t ask the questions right and–”

Snickering as Pidge went off on one of her tangents, Keith sat down on the small space Hunk made for him and leaned forward so he could see his friends. It was nice going to the same small university as with a few friends who actually liked him and getting to see them at least once a day, and Keith loved the time they got to share between classes.

“So,” Hunk began, drawing Keith from his thoughts, “How’s the art thing going?”

“Which one?” Keith asked with a smile, knowing full well Hunk did his best to pay attention to everyone’s interests.

“The midterm one,” Lance supplies from the other end of the bench, his blue eyes glinting from the light streaming through the skylight, “The charcoal based drawing.”

Something soft fluttered in Keith’s chest at Lance remembering his midterm project. It was one thing for Hunk to try to remember Keith’s assignment, but it was something else for Lance to remember it. Maybe it was the crippling crush Keith held towards him, but Lance had a way of being infuriatingly sweet to him. They hadn’t always gotten along, especially when their first meeting at orientation ended with them covered in each other’s coffee and slushie, but Keith liked how their friendship really developed.

“That one’s easy,” Keith said, rocking back and forth, “It’s the final that’s kicking my ass.”

“Right,” Lance nodded, his eyes squinting as if he was trying to remember what it was.

At the beginning of the semester Keith hadn't worried about his final project, especially when it seemed so simple. All he had to do was record the process of making something and submit both the video or pictures and the artwork to his professor for grading. The only problem Keith ran into was that he had no idea what he actually wanted to make for his final piece. It was one thing to stick to charcoal and graphite like he was used to, but Keith knew from the way his professor talked to him that she wanted to see something out of the box and different from him. In theory Keith had plenty of time to finish his final exam piece whie keeping up with his other class requirements, but in reality he knew he'd end up pushing it off until the last minute like he always did.

Before anyone could continue the conversation Pidge perked up and said, “That’s right, I asked my mom and I’m having a movie night in a couple weeks. You guys in?”

“Hell yeah!” Lance yelled, his grin wide as he looked down at the others, “I’m always down for Holt movie time!”

“I’ll come,” Keith said with a smile as he fingered the corners of his sketchbook, “Is Shiro invited?”

Rolling her eyes Pidge nodded and said, “Duh. If Matt hasn’t already asked him then drag his ass over. My mom misses him.”

“I can bring cookies,” Hunk suggested, an idea that everyone agreed on with murmurs of approval and praise.

Hunk’s baking skills were on par with his engineering talent. While Hunk had the opportunity to go to culinary school, everyone supported his decision to go into engineering. Keith could only admire how smart Hunk was and how he had more skills outside of cooking.

“Dude I gotta go,” Lance said, standing up and collecting his loose papers against his chest, “I have early rehearsal with my scene partner.”

“Good luck,” Keith said, offering an encouraging smile as the others bid Lance a similar expression.

“It’s break a leg!” Lance called as he shoved his way into the black box theater.

Mumbling in appreciation as Pidge and Hunk adjusted to the new amount of space on the cushioned seats, Keith flipped open his sketchbook before noticing the blue postit on the inside cover. Reading the simple compliment, Keith felt a ghost of a smile cross his lips before he tuned into what Pidge and Hunk were talking about. No matter how small it was, the message was sweet and made Keith feel good.

* * *

The second note was on a green post-it note.

Keith hadn’t expected any more of the little encouragements, chalking it up to a random girl. But while the first note was general enough to be nice, this one was a bit…weirder.

_You look hot on your bike_

The slow grip of suspicion crept up Keith’s spine as he reread the paper. It was one thing to see him wearing one of his favorite shirts, but the campus had more parking lots than Keith could keep track of, and he almost never parked his motorcycle in the same place. This message had a creepy stalker feeling to it.

So if Keith crammed it unceremoniously into his backpack instead of his sketchbook, he had good reason and nobody was around to pay attention to it.

But the notes didn’t stop. Wednesday’s was another blue piece of paper with a small smiley face drawn in the top corner.

_I like the buttons on your bag :)_

It wasn’t really that bad, but Keith didn’t know how to bring up the fact that he might have a stalker to his friends, so he kept quiet. Normally Keith wouldn’t hesitate to bring up what bothered him, especially if it was a stranger who was the irritant, but even Keith had to admit that he could be jumping to conclusions.

That was until Friday’s purple note showed up with another somewhat intimidating message.

_Hope your astronomy class went well_

Aside from his friends Keith hadn’t told anyone he took astronomy with Professor Holt. His classmates were the only other people who saw Keith in that class, and it was one of his favorite courses despite the amount of homework that was assigned. Maybe it was the lack of punctuation or how much this person seemed to know about him, but Keith was tired and felt on edge from the notes no matter how well intended the might have been.

Of course, none of that stopped him from driving with Lance to get McDonald’s at two in the morning. There was something sacred about getting junk food at ungodly hours of the morning, and Keith wasn’t about to stop anytime soon especially when Lance insisted that he’d pay.

“So how was your day?” Lance asked between sips of his strawberry milkshake, “Anything exciting happen?”

“Not really,” Keith mumbled as he dipped a few fries in his ketchup cup, “Just class and stuff.”

“Same,” Lance smirked, “My professor had us do some weird games today.”

“In acting?” Keith asked curiously, “How does that work?”

Shrugging, Lance leaned back in the booth and said, “It was to get us in our roles. I thought it was pretty fun.”

“Yeah, you and you’re mushy love scene,” Keith said, unable to help wrinkling his nose at the premise.

Romance was never Keith’s strong suit even when it came to himself. His crush on Lance was the closest thing Keith ever really experienced when it came to romance. Lance on the other hand was a romantic through and through. Aside from flirting with anything that had a pulse and walked on two legs, Lance was polite and kind to whoever he liked, and Keith remembered how the other man went out of his way to be nice to a girl he liked in freshman year.

“It’s not mushy,” Lance protested, his voice raising an octave as he began to argue, “It’s beautiful!”

“It’s gross,” Keith snickered, hoping he didn’t choke on his straw.

Huffing, Lance held his milkshake close and said, “Whatever you say My Chemically Imbalanced Romance.”

Snorting at the nickname, Keith fell against the table as laughter poured from his mouth. Lance never ceased to amaze Keith with how many names and jokes he could call him, and it always reduced Keith to a puddle of giggles.

Gasping for breath, Keith sputtered out something before relapsing into a burst of laughter, covering his mouth in a vain attempt to hide the giggles that escaped him. Across from him Lance just smiled to himself while something bright shone in his blue eyes. If Lance liked making Keith laugh, Keith liked seeing Lance smile like the world was right in front of him.

Finally regaining his composure, Keith rubbed the back of his hand against his eyes to wipe away the tears that accumulated from his laughing fit. Taking a deep breath Keith took a shaky sip of his drink before nudging some of his fries towards Lance.

Without hesitating, Lance took the salty treats and asked, “So how were your classes? Anything good happen in astronomy?”

“Not really,” Keith shrugged, trying to remember what he learned, “Just the usual stuff. You’d like it.”

Dipping a fry in his milkshake, Lance popped it in his mouth before saying “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take astronomy next semester if you take acting.”

“Why the hell would I do that?” Keith asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Because you’ll be good at it,” Lance said as if that explained everything, “And then we can take acting two together. It’ll be great!”

Shaking his head in dismissal at the thought, Keith snatched one of Lance’s chicken nuggets before muttering, “Never gonna happen.”

“Spoilsport,” Lance pouted, resting his chin on his hand while he scrolled through his phone.

Taking the opportunity to admire Lance without being teased, Keith sipped his drink in hopes that he wouldn’t be caught. It was captivating how Lance made cute expressions while he went through his phone, texting or looking at pictures, and Keith wondered if Lance looked like that when they texted each other. Under the shitty McDonald’s lighting Lance’s tanned skin looked a little washed out, but his freckles still stood out against his nose and cheekbones. If Keith had his way he’d spend hours counting the freckles dotting Lance’s face like stars an even try to make out constellations and patterns.

“You okay samurai?” Lance asked, looking up from his phone with a smile, “You’re quiet.”

“I’m always quiet,” Keith muttered, cramming a few more fries into his mouth.

Laughing a bit at the statement, Lance began to launch into his scene and how he wanted to act his part, Keith maintained eye contact. Shiro always said that eyes were the windows to the soul, and if that was true then Lance’s soul was filled with the deep intensity of the sea and the exciting thrill of the sky.


	2. Beauty and Success Follow a Poppy's Remembrance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished writing this on Thursday and really struggled with waiting to post it until now. For once I have an update schedule and I'd like to keep it. Now enjoy some pining oblivious Keith!

“Did you and Allura ever leave each other notes?”

Glancing up from the grilled cheese he was making, Shiro gave Keith a curious look before asking, “What do you mean?”

“I dunno,” Keith shrugged, poking at his food, “I was just wondering.”

“That’s okay,” Shiro said, plating his sandwich carefully, “She did leave me a valentines day card reminding me to shower.”

Smirking at how Allura had no shame in telling Shiro what to do, Keith returned his attention to his food. The post-it in Keith’s jacket pocket almost burned with the potential meaning behind it, and some of the stress in Keith’s chest faded. Keith had been uncomfortable with the anonymous notes in his locker, but the more he got the more he realized they might not be as sinister as he anticipated.

There had been a note in his locker every single day that week, and Keith was starting to relax about the messages. The first few were creepy and gave Keith the feeling that someone was stalking him, but after the one he got on Tuesday he was beginning to change his mind.

_Your piece on color theory is my favorite_

In the back of his mind Keith knew a stalker could find any of his artwork in the humanities building, especially since the art classes hung up students’ drawings and paintings on the walls. But color theory was different. The canvases for that class were tucked away in a corner of the building that only the art students cared about. It had the updates on what exhibits would be visiting the campus gallery, advertisements for various clubs and events, and the canvases for color theory.

Keith’s painting hadn’t been anything special–just a few different sized squares of red and blue–but he liked it. He had been proud showing it to Shiro for the first time, but Keith knew it wasn’t anything new or exciting. Whoever the stranger was leaving him notes, they paid attention to the painting he liked the best.

“You alright?” Shiro asked, drawing Keith out of his thoughts, “Is something wrong?”

“No,” Keith said with a shake of his head, “Just thinking about stuff.”

Making a sound of understanding Shiro slid into the seat across from Keith and asked, “For drawing?”

“What else?” Keith asked with a scoff.

His final assignment was supposed to be easy, but Keith thought it was anything but. He was supposed to do something that used the techniques and skills he learned in the class and record the process. Keith remembered someone filming herself drawing her self portrait in graphite. It had been interesting to watch a twelve-hour process be condensed into a fifteen-minute video, but Keith was still stumped on ideas for his own.

“You could draw Lance,” Shiro suggested, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips, “I bet he wouldn’t mind.”

“Knock it off,” Keith mumbled, ducking his head as his face got hot.

“Okay, okay,” Shiro sighed, holding his hands up in surrender, “I still think you’re making a bigger deal out of this than you should. It’s one thing.”

“Sure,” Keith said, grabbing a slice of Shiro’s grilled cheese, “Just like making a circuit board is just one thing.”

Shiro looked like he wanted to argue but stopped himself. Shiro had jumped between interests several times, and Keith knew how many final exams and projects the man struggled through.

“Fair enough,” Shiro said, grabbing a few chips from Keith’s plate, “But if you need any help just ask me. I don’t mind helping.”

“Will do,” Keith said before changing the subject to Pidge’s movie night.

As they talked and finished dinner, Keith forgot about the paper in his pocket as an idea played in the back of his mind. Asking for help for his project wasn’t something his professor said he couldn’t do, and the more Keith thought about it the more he realized he might have an idea for his final project after all. He’d just need to ask for help.

* * *

_It’s sweet how you listen to what your friends say_

Keith didn’t even try to hide the smile the note brought to his face. The small message on the green post-it was small and something almost nobody would notice about him. Whenever Keith was with his friends he was overshadowed by their loud and boisterous personalities. Keith didn’t mind that too much, but people usually took his blank expression and silence as disinterest when he was really paying close attention to what his friends had to share with him.

Instead of crumbling up the note like he had done with a few of them, Keith folded it and put it in his jacket pocket. For whatever reason Keith hadn’t thrown any of the notes away, choosing to keep them on a corner of his desk at home. This one would join them once he got home, but Keith pushed that thought aside as he approached the bench outside the black box theater where Lance was sitting by himself.

“Hey,” Keith said, sitting down on the cushioned bench, “Where’s Hunk and Bird?”

“Robotics club,” Lance said with a long sigh, his head resting against the wall with his eyes shut, “Which sucks.”

“Why?” Keith asked, glancing around the hallway, “Weren’t you gonna rehearse with Plaxum today?”

Groaning, Lance nodded and sat forward, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. It was rare for Lance to look tired, but with how his hair hadn’t been straightened and the way he slouched forward it was clear to Keith how bad a day the other was having.

Running his hands down his face Lance said, “She’s sick again. When we do meet up and practice we do well, but I know I can do better if we have more time to run through the scene.”

Nodding in understanding, Keith rubbed Lance’s shoulder as nicely as he could. Lance had been ecstatic when he was paired with Plaxum for his scene, and was even more excited when he had been given a romance scene, but problems quickly arose. Aside from Plaxum’s tight schedule only allowing them to rehearse after classes and on the weekends, the girl kept getting sick. Logically Keith knew Plaxum had no control over when she caught a cold, but Lance needed the extra rehearsal time.

“I can do it if you want,” Keith suggested, playing with the corner of his sketchbook.

“Seriously?” Lance asked with an expression Keith couldn’t read, “I thought you hated acting.”

Shaking his head, Keith glanced at the empty black box theater before saying, “I don’t like people watching me. I don’t mind practicing with you if you need it.”

“In that case,” Lance said, grabbing Keith by the wrist and pulling him up, “I’ll take you up on that offer!”

Unable to hold back a smile at how happy Lance was, Keith allowed himself to be pulled into the theater. Blinking in surprise as Lance flicked on the lights, Keith looked around to get familiar with the room. Aside from a few chairs shoved to the side, there were a few tables and a couple boxes that had to be used as props scattered around the room.

“Isn’t there a class today?” Keith asked, tensing up at how his voice carried through the room.

“Not today,” Lance said, arranging a few of the large boxes, “Our professor is busy working on the play the theater class puts on. The room’s open to whoever wants to use it, but I guess everyone else skipped.”

Shrugging at the answer, Keith dropped his bag down and looked up at the grid of metal above his head. It was interesting how the lighting fixtures were placed and Keith had so many questions he wanted answered about the theater.

But before he had a chance to voice those curiosities, Lance appeared by his side with a wild grin on his face and a few papers in his hands.

“So here’s the script,” Lance said, shoving the papers in Keith’s hands, “I’m the guy, obviously, and I highlighted my lines. You get to play the girl and my wonderful love interest.”

Frowning at the pages of script Keith mumbled, “What’s this play even about?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Lance shrugged, motioning for Keith to join him near the boxes, “All you have to do is be in love with me but refuse to admit it.”

“And let me guess,” Keith said as he skimmed through his part of the lines, “You’re head over heels for me and have been trying to woo me for the last two years?”

“One year actually,” Lance said with a smug smile.

“Okay,” Keith said, flipping to the beginning of the script, “Where do you want me to stand?”

Lance’s smile faltered for a second which made Keith wonder what he said wrong, but he recovered with a laugh and explained what the blocking was.

“I think we should stand really close to each other at the end of the scene,” Lance said, waving his hands around excitedly, “That way it looks like we’re thinking about what kissing the other is like.”

“I like that,” Keith said, reading the last bit of the script Lance had been talking about, “What did Plaxum say?”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Lance shrugged and said, “I didn’t bring it up to her yet.”

That was unusual. Lance never hesitated to voice his opinions, something that usually made Keith go head to head with him.

“Why not?” Keith asked, sitting down on one of the boxes to find it was made of wood.

“I dunno,” Lance said, running his hand through his hair, “I don’t want to make her uncomfortable, especially with how sick she’s been.”

“Well let’s give it a try,” Keith said, looking down at his lines, “And if you think it works then you should mention it. You don’t have to push it, but you can suggest it to her.”

Smiling at that, Lance nodded and said, “Thank you Keith.”

“We haven’t done anything yet,” Keith smirked, shaking his papers a bit for emphasis.

“Not that,” Lance said, his eyes locking with Keith’s, “Thank you for listening. I needed that.”

Smiling at how Lance regarded him with kindness in his eyes, Keith made a sound of acknowledgment before looking back at his script. Rehearsing with Lance was fun and interesting, especially with how good an actor he was. Keith was amazed at how easily Lance recited his lines, devoting himself to his role and living in the moment, unaware of how the scene would end. In comparison, Keith’s delivery was lacking, and he stumbled over some of the longer words he wasn’t prepared for.

But Lance had nothing but praise for him.

“Dude you’re amazing!” Lance said, breaking in the middle of the scene to grab a handful of props from his backpack, “That was so funny! I need to tell Plaxum to make that part more comedic. Right now what we have feels a bit too serious.”

“If you say so,” Keith mumbled, thumbing through the rest of his lines, “This is fun.”

“See,” Lance said knowingly, “I knew you’d like acting.”

“I don’t,” Keith muttered to himself, “I like doing it with you.”

Waiting for Lance to release a few of his famous pickup lines, Keith prepared himself for the teasing that would ensue. Lance never hesitated to tease Keith even if it was a joke, and with that admission there was no doubt some tormenting was in store.

“I wouldn’t mind doing it with you,” Lance said suggestively, a smirk on his face, “But I like spending time with you too buddy.”

Sighing heavily at the light teasing, Keith jumped as Lance tucked some of his hair behind his ear. It wasn’t a big deal to Keith when people touched his hair to get it out of his face, but usually people weren’t as close to his face as Lance was right now. Out of everything in the theater that distracted him, Keith could only focus on how close Lance was and how he looked at Keith with what could only be described as reverence.

Laughing nervously at the gesture, Keith found himself and batted Lance’s hand away, suddenly uncomfortable with how close he was to the man. It was one thing to be that intimate and have Lance, but it was another thing when it was just teasing.

“You wanna run through it again?”

Disappointment flickered across Lance’s features before he nodded and said with a smile, “Only if we do that again at the end. You’re cute when you’re flustered.”

Groaning at the comment, Keith brought a hand to his face and tried to think about anything other than how much he had wanted to close the gap between their lips. When they began to run through the scene again, Keith noticed something different about the way Lance performed. All of the lines directed towards Keith held some kind of frustration along with the love and adoration he conveyed, but as the end of the scene approached things changed.

Instead of yelling or being loud like Keith expected, Lance grew quiet as he recited his lines. It was a quiet declaration of love, subtle and kind, and Keith almost felt like Lance was speaking directly to him. Even when he had to read his lines off the paper, Keith could feel Lance’s stare on him. When the scene finally ended with them standing almost nose to nose, Keith could feel his face get hot again.

“That was way better,” Lance said, breaking character to offer Keith a grin, “I think Plaxum and I can do this even better now.”

“No problem,” Keith said, moving to grab his bag, “You still going to Pidge’s movie night?”

“Hell yeah!” Lance exclaimed, his voice echoing throughout the room, “I was thinking of bringing some candy, what about you?”

“I dunno yet,” Keith said, waiting at the door for Lance to finish collecting his things, “Maybe chips again.”

“Spicy Doritos?” Lance asked with a knowing smile.

Rolling his eyes at how well Lance knew his favorite chips, Keith muttered, “I’ll get some cool ranch for you.”

“Yes!” Lance exclaimed, throwing an arm over Keith’s shoulder as they left the room, “You’re the best!”

“You always say that,” Keith smiled, squirming out from under Lance’s half-hearted hug.

Rolling his eyes Lance began to ramble about Pidge’s potential movie choices, not caring about how loud he was as they walked through the building.

Laughing quietly at something Lance said, Keith shoved his hands in his pockets. Smiling a little wider at how his fingers brushed against the note from earlier, Keith thought back to what it said only for a shiver to run up his spine. The note had been about listening to his friends and Lance…Lance thanked him for listening. More than that, Lance made it a big deal of how he appreciated the way Keith listened to him.

Swallowing hard at the similarity between Lance and what was left on the note, Keith shook the idea from his head. It was too good to think Lance was the one leaving him notes, but Keith couldn’t help the small flutter of hope in his chest.

* * *

_Your earrings are badass and sexy_

Keith couldn’t help but smile at the newest addition to his collection of anonymous messages. When he got his ears pierced Keith had been more than proud to show them off and kept his hair tied up while they healed. While he got compliments from his friends and a few earring gifts from them, nobody described them the same way as his…admirer? That sounded too much like something from a teenage girl’s romance novel. Not–quite–stalker didn’t sound much better, but it was better than nothing.

Tapping the eraser end of his pencil against his desk, Keith looked over his array of colored post-it messages. There were a lot of different colors used, but blue was clearly the favorite considering how many notes were blue.

Rearranging the notes in the order he got them, Keith glanced over to his pinboard. The board had been a gift from Matt, but aside from his meager collection of enamel pins, Keith didn’t have anything on it. Grabbing the small stack of post-its, Keith sat on his bed and began to tack them up on the board. Sitting back once he was done hanging up the messages, Keith sighed happily and scanned them. He could read all of them and there was room for more in case he received any more.

Lying back on his bed, Keith bit his lip while he thought about his final project. Although he was allowed to use some of the supplies in the art room, the amount of paint Keith wanted for his piece was more than the campus provided. That wasn’t too much of a problem, especially since Hunk told him about a sale the hardware store had, but Keith still had to ask his friends for help.

Groaning at the thought of having to admit he needed assistance with his work, Keith rolled onto his side and kicked his shoes off. It was one thing for Lance to ask for help rehearsing, but Keith needing to ask for help with a painting felt almost pathetic. In reality Keith knew his friends would find his idea fun and exciting, and they wouldn’t hesitate to help, but he couldn’t help but feel like a bother.

The first few times he asked friends and classmates for help when he was younger all ended in failure. Either Keith had been laughed at or he was given a look that made him feel stupid. Even that all happened as a kid, it still made Keith hesitate before asking for any kind of help. If he could figure it out on his own he’d do it, but this time he didn’t want to.

Grabbing his phone Keith opened the group chat to see what everyone had been talking about. Smiling at the amount of emojis Hunk and Lance used, Keith laughed softly to himself at how Shiro acted like he was clueless with technology. Shiro was a genius when it came to computers and phones, so it always amused Keith how his brother never hesitated to pretend he didn’t know how a microwave worked.

Judging by Hunk and Lance’s reactions, they still hadn’t figured out Shiro had been pretending he didn’t know what the middle finger emoji meant.

**Keith:** You guys are idiots

**Lancey Lance:** Mullet!

**Lancey Lance:** Tell Shiro to stop flipping us off!

**Space Dad:** I don’t know what you mean

**Hunk:** I’m amazed Allura decided to date you

**Space dad:** I gave her flowers for a whole week

**Space Dad:** And she gave me one when she took me on our first date

**Lancey Lance:** That’s so sweet!

**Keith:** Gross

**Keith:** You kept buying plants that made my allergies flare up

**Lancey Lance:** You’ve never been given flowers?

**Keith:** Nope

**Hunk:** You have flower allergies?! THAT’S BAD!

**Keith:** Not flower allergies

**Keith:** I have mild hayfever

**Space Dad:** It’s really not that bad

**Hunk:** Are you sure?

**Space Dad:** Absolutely. He’s fine

**Keith:** Can we go back to how Shiro was a big enough sap to look up flower meanings for Allura’s bouquets?

**Lancey Lance:** So you’ve NEVER gotten flowers before?

**Lancey Lance:** EVER?!

**Keith:** No…why?

**Lancey Lance:** This needs to be fixed

**Pidgeon:** Can you guys shut up? I’m tired. I wanna sleep

**Space Dad:** Hi tired

**Lancey Lance:** NOT AGAIN

**Space Dad:** I’m space dad

**Pidgeon:** …I was asking for that

**Keith:** You really were

**Space Dad:** Go to sleep Keef

**Space Dad:** I know where you live

Snickering at Shiro’s joke Keith sat up and glanced around his room before deciding on getting a snack. He’d ask everyone about his project another time, especially since they were busy talking about anything but school.

* * *

The last thing Keith expected to find in addition to a note on Thursday, was an origami flower. It was red with a black center, and Keith had literally no idea what the heck it meant other than the fact that this was the first flower he had ever been given. In the back of his mind, all Keith could think about were Lance’s texts about flowers and how this couldn’t be a coincidence.

Holding the paper flower in one hand, Keith looked at what was scribbled on the pink post-it in hopes that it would clear things up.

_It’s supposed to be a rose, but poppies are just as pretty as you are_

Rereading the message, Keith looked at the flat origami poppy he had been gifted by the stranger. Taking a deep breath, Keith opened his sketchbook to the last page he used before sliding the flower in the top to act as a bookmark.

Sticking the post-it in the front of his sketchbook to bring home, Keith let himself enjoy the warm feeling that began to spread through his chest into his limbs. It was silly, and definitely nothing any of his friends would associate with him, but someone thought he was pretty. Not just hot or generally attractive but pretty, and that was something that made Keith smile to himself for the rest of the day.

And if Pidge teased him for acting like a dork, he didn’t care. Someone gave him a flower and a compliment, and that meant more to Keith than he could ever express. Just this once, Keith wished he could thank the stranger for making him feel like he was the most important person in someone’s world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we are! Another segment of silliness. I actually looked up origami roses and tried to do it myself before getting frustrated and throwing the paper cross the room. Poppies were a lot easier to make, so I had to go with that one for Keith's flower.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this part as much as I did! Stay safe and remember to drink some water!
> 
> 3/21/2020


	3. Royal Love Held in a Tulip's Petals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up making this chapter longer than I anticipated, but I really like how it turned out!

_You’re cute when you wear your hair up_

Keith hadn’t been expecting a note on Friday, especially since he had never found one on a Friday, but that didn’t stop him from being excited. When Keith found the note he hadn’t hesitated to read it, taking in the writing and smiling at the compliment. Although Keith almost always kept a hair tie on his wrist, he didn’t tie it back as often as he could’ve. Apparently whoever his anonymous note leaver was liked it the few times Keith pulled his hair back from his face or off his neck.

“Hey,” Lance said, nudging Keith with his elbow, “Movie’s starting. You paying attention?”

“Yeah,” Keith nodded, glancing at the TV, “Why wouldn’t I be interested in this?”

Laughing at the comment, Lance dug his hand into the bag of chips Keith while Pidge began ranting about how terrible the movie was. While nobody said it out loud, the Holt family home was the best place to meet up for movies or game nights. Between the large living room with enough couches and beanbag chairs for everyone, to the huge movie selection the family had, Keith loved it when Pidge and Matt hosted movie nights. Of course, that usually meant that Matt and Pidge had a bigger say in what was shown, but considering everyone was given a selection to choose from it seemed relatively fair.

But Pidge was unimpressed with tonight’s movie selection and seemed intent on letting everyone know about it.

“Every Bruce Willis movie is about him having a bad day,” Pidge said for the hundredth time, “This is just weird. Why the hell do you like this?”

Tossing a handful of M&Ms in his mouth, Matt grinned and said, “Because you and mom hate it. And it’s funny.”

“I gotta agree with Matt,” Shiro said with a smile from where he was sitting, “Meryl Streep is impossible to beat.”

Rolling his eyes at his brother’s comment, Keith picked a few chocolate chips out of his cookie and began to nibble on the sweets while his mind wandered. The movie was strange and hard to follow with his friends’ constant jokes and chatter, but from what he could tell Keith was almost positive this was one of Bruce Willis’ worst days. It was about two women trying to seduce the guy? Keith wasn’t sure, especially when he kept thinking back to his latest series of notes.

After receiving his origami flower, Keith had been excited just to get more notes. Every time he found one—whether it was written on a colorful post-it note or a ripped piece of lined paper—Keith felt a bit happier. Not all of them talked about his appearance, but Keith wasn’t ashamed of the one that spoke highly of his ass and face, in fact he pinned that one to the top of his pinboard. Keith’s favorite notes were the ones that had little doodles on them. Whoever his mysterious note leaver was, they weren’t an artist but Keith appreciated how they tried.

A few messages had little flowers drawn around the corners, one even had a small cat that had been done in pencil, but it was the stars that Keith liked best. For whatever reason, whoever left the messages began to draw simple constellations on the notes, connecting the star points to create the lines that made the picture clear.

“I’m dying,” Lance groaned as he buried his face in Keith’s shoulder, “This much second-hand embarrassment isn’t good for my soul.”

Breathing a laugh at the dramatics, Keith tried to ignore the way his face got hot at how Lance acted on his impulses. Even before Keith really got along with Lance he knew the actor showed how he cared through his actions, and touch was one of the most important factors to Lance. It was rare for Lance to ask before he touched someone, be it holding their hand or just throwing an arm over their shoulders, but Keith never really got used to the attention. It really didn’t help how much he liked the way Lance touched him with no hesitation, like Keith was important and nice to be around.

“You’re being overdramatic,” Keith said, playfully shoving Lance’s shoulder, “It’s not that bad.”

Making a strangled sound, Lance gestured to the television before running a hand over his face and making another incoherent sound. Smirking at Lance’s internal struggle, Keith relaxed into the Holt’s couch while the movie continued. Aside from Hunk’s quips about the film and Pidge’s attempt to debunk the science behind the plot, the movie continued without much interruption, but that didn’t stop Keith from zoning out.

The amount of candy and snacks scattered around the living room was enough to give a dentist a heart attack, and Keith was slightly amazed at how much the group had already consumed. The chips and popcorn had pretty much run out, but there were still different bags of chocolate candy and gummy bears up for grabs, but nobody seemed interested in those just yet.

“Well,” Allura said as the credits rolled, her expression a combination of horror and uncertainty, “That was…interesting.”

“It was terrible!” Pidge exclaimed, turning to look at Allura for support, “You hated it didn’t you?”

Nodding in agreement, Allura grabbed her drink off the coffee table and said quickly, “Let’s never watch it again.”

Smiling as his friends began to argue about whether the movie was good or bad, Keith voiced his own opinions just to see who would get riled up over it.

“Can we just agree that it was a Bruce Willis movie?” Hunk asked, his voice rising above the others as he attempted to calm the situation, “What’s the next one? I need something to clean my brain after that.”

A few murmurs of agreement sounded and Matt began to root through the video cabinet for something else, calling out suggestions to whoever would answer him. Sighing as everyone agreed on another film, Keith tried to hold back a yawn that threatened to escape him. Aside from his anonymous messages, Keith had been focused on studying for his exams and getting the materials for his final art project. Between skimming his textbooks, writing essays, and watching funny videos on youtube, Keith had begun to tire himself out even though he wouldn’t admit it to anyone. Keith had great endurance when it came to staying up and rationing his energy for different projects, but multitasking all of his school projects and still trying to make time for his friends took a toll on him.

So it wasn’t much of a surprise to Keith that about halfway through the second movie he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. Whatever Matt convinced everyone to watch was less exciting than the first one, so Keith didn’t feel like he was missing anything when he rested his head against the back of the couch and dozed off for a few moments. The only thing he didn’t expect was to wake up halfway through the movie to find himself resting his head against Lance’s shoulder while the other leaned against him as well.

Still half asleep, Keith realized nobody was paying any attention to how Lance seemed to have drifted off, or how the two were practically using each other as pillows, but that didn’t matter too much. Shifting a bit so he wouldn’t get too much of a crick in his neck, Keith let his eyes slip shut again at the same time he realized someone had pulled a blanket over him. It was a nice gesture from whoever had done it, but all of Keith’s thoughts faded until he was awoken by the sounds of people talking.

Groaning at the noise, Keith rolled to the side and pressed his face against whatever he had been using as a pillow in hopes that everyone would shut up. But Shiro’s firm hand shaking Keith’s shoulder was doing nothing to help him fall back asleep.

“Hey bud,” Shiro said, his smile coming through in his tone, “Gotta get up. We have to drive home.”

“I’m sleeping in the car,” Keith mumbled, squinting angrily at Shiro, “Tired.”

“We noticed,” Pidge said as she unceremoniously shoved her phone in Keith’s face.

Grumbling at the brightness of the screen, Keith took the device from Pidge and blinked a few times to clear his vision. Rubbing at one of his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, Keith frowned at the picture of him and Lance cuddled up on the Holt’s couch. Glancing to where Lance had been before he passed out, Keith felt disappointment drop in his stomach as he realized both Lance and Hunk had most likely gone home. It made sense considering how late it must’ve gotten, but that didn’t do anything to make Keith feel any better. One of the few times he got to hang out with Lance off campus and he had to go and fall asleep.

“I think it’s cute,” Pidge said with a smile as she took her phone back, “You two were pretty wiped out.”

Clearing his throat, Shiro nodded towards the door before giving Keith a look that clearly meant he wanted to go.

Waving his hand dismissively at his brother, Keith said, “Go kiss your girlfriend goodnight. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Allura went home an hour ago,” Shiro said, a smile playing on his lips as he surveyed the living room, “I’ll be in the car.”

Rolling his eyes at how pushy Shiro got when he wanted something, Keith began to gather his things from where he left them. Aside from his bag on the floor and what remained of the snacks he brought, Pidge seemed to have something to talk to him about.

“I have those pictures of you and Lance snuggling,” Pidge said with a smile, offering a bag of unopened candy to Keith, “You want me to send it to you?”

Raising an eyebrow at the offer, Keith asked, “Why?”

“It’s sweet,” Pidge said simply, stretching her arms above her head before yawning, “Besides, Lance and Hunk wanted them. I figured you would too.”

The offer was tempting and Keith was tired, so he fully blamed his nod of approval on his exhaustion. Keith definitely didn’t want a few pictures of him and Lance both passed out looking completely wiped out, no he was saying yes to be polite.

A small smile crept across Pidge’s face as she slapped Keith on the shoulder and said, “Go rest. You’re gonna need it for my dad’s final exam.”

“Night Pidge,” Keith said, slinging his bag over his shoulder in an attempt to ignore any other hints about how horrible Professor Holt’s astronomy tests were.

* * *

The campus gardens were a beautiful place. Located just outside the humanities building and library, the walkways featured different plants from flowers and trees to other species Keith didn’t know. The only part of the garden Keith really liked was the large koi pond in the center. The pond was big, and on multiple occasions Keith had been tempted to walk around in the knee-high water, but that didn’t seem fair to the fish.

“Keith!” Allura called, waving her hand in the air to catch his attention, “Over here!”

Smiling at how enthusiastic Allura was to meet up in the gardens, Keith made his way over to the bench she and Lance shared. Even before Allura and Shiro started dating it was clear that the girl had an interest in botany. Her family’s flower shop was cute and a little cliché as far as Keith was concerned, but Allura was smart when it came to science and she always dedicated herself to her studies. It was really amazing how despite knowing so much Allura never showed off or pushed her interests on anyone who wasn’t interested.

“Hey Ally,” Keith said, sitting down on the opposing bench, “Lance. What’s up?”

“So much,” Allura said, scooting to the edge of her seat, “Did you know Lance finally got the rest of his props together?”

“I had it planned!” Lance said defensively, a smile on his face as he added, “Props are easy, it’s the costumes I really need to work on.”

Sighing at how excited Lance got when he talked about his passion, Keith leaned back against the rickety bench while his friends talked. Sometimes it was just easier to listen to his friends instead of talking himself, and Keith was grateful that they seemed to pick up on that part of him.

“Hey man,” Lance said, snapping his fingers to get Keith’s attention, “You good?”

“Fine,” Keith shrugged, silently hoping Lance didn’t notice how he had been staring in his general direction, “Just thinking.”

“Sure,” Lance said with a smile before changing the subject, “You put your hair up. I like it.”

Unable to help the way his mouth tugged up unto a smile, Keith nodded and bit the inside of his lip. He didn’t usually do things just because people said they liked it, but Keith hoped that going along with a few of the things his anonymous note giver mentioned would draw them out, or at least give him a hint as to who they were.

“I do too,” Allura said before blinking in confusion. Turning her attention to Lance, Allura asked, “Lance, didn’t you say you were meeting with Plaxum soon? For rehearsals?”

Stiffening at the mention, a series of emotions flickered across Lance’s face as he fumbled for his phone.

Letting out a groan as he read the time, Lance grabbed his bag and stood up while saying, “The stage calls. Talk to you guys later?”

“Sure,” Keith shrugged, knowing he had spare time after his class to sit with Lance to talk, “Don’t die.”

“Very funny,” Lance said, giving Allura a quick hug before passing behind Keith. In a quick but easy motion, Lance tugged on a strand of Keith’s short ponytail and said, “See you later samurai.”

Heat crept up Keith’s neck as Lance booked it from the garden. A few threes blocked Keith’s view of Lance after he turned a corner, but now he was able to have Allura time all to himself.

Grinning at the chance to speak with Keith without any interruptions, Allura asked, “So tell me about your latest artwork. I saw one of the drawings you did was hung up on the wall.”

“That happens with everyone,” Keith said, rubbing the back of his exposed neck, “But nothing much. Still getting some stuff together for the final. Do you wanna help?”

“Of course!” Allura exclaimed, the pink glitter near her eyes flashing in the sun s she smiled widely, “What is it? I’m available for anything!”

Letting a small sigh of relief escape him upon Allura’s positive reaction, Keith played with the buttons on his jacket before saying, “It’s still a work in progress, but it involves painting. I thought you guys would be interested.”

“All of us?” Allura asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yeah,” Keith nodded, ignoring his nerves in favor of just talking, “I haven’t really told anyone else yet, but I was thinking of telling Lance later.”

“He’d love that,” Allura said, her fingers twisting in the ends of her braid as she twirled it in excitement.

Listening for a few minutes as Allura went on about her classes—mainly her essays and tests—Keith suddenly became aware of the paper flower he had been using as a bookmark and how Allura would know what it meant. Keith had considered looking up the different meanings flowers held, but when he saw just how many results his search yielded he gave up on it. But Allura knew flower meanings, and she was always more than willing to talk about them.

“Hey ‘Lur,” Keith said, catching the girl at a breaking point, “What do poppies mean? The flowers.”

Instantly Allura’s expression brightened. Clapping her hands excitedly Allura began to go over the basics of flower meanings, filling Keith in on things he never considered.

“Poppies are a beautiful flower,” Allura said with a sigh, “They’re mainly recognized for their representation of remembrance, but beauty and success have attributed to them as well. Why? Did someone give you one?”

“Sort of,” Keith shrugged, hoping to keep his flower private and to himself for a little longer, “I was just wondering.”

Either Allura knew not to press Keith for answers or she didn’t think that much about his sudden interest in flowers. One way or another that didn’t stop her from launching into a detailed description of her garden at home. By the time they parted ways, Keith was almost sure Allura just wanted to listen to herself talk about her favorite plants, but he knew her better than that.

But Keith’s interest was diverted as he walked past his locker, a strange feeling in his gut prompting him towards it. Normally the students who used the campus lockers barley interacted with the contraption, and Keith had been like that before he started getting the notes. Maybe it was a little unhealthy for him to constantly wish for another, but Keith couldn’t help the swell of joy that he experienced when he got a new piece of paper.

But Keith never knew when his…not really admirer slipped the notes into his locker between classes. Opening the metal door with his curiosity brimming, Keith smiled at the slightly crumpled green post it note before reading it.

_I love how your eyes aren’t purple or blue. They’re in the middle, like indigo. **PS:** I like the ponytail, it’s cute_

Grinning to himself, Keith brought a hand up to his hair to grab a few strands. So whoever was leaving him notes had seen him today. Whether it was during a class or in between Keith wasn’t sure, but he was still happy to have gotten a little more information on his admirer. Slipping the post-it into his back pocket, Keith made his way to his class and tried to stay focused on the task at hand, but it was so easy to let his mind wander.

There were so many questions Keith had about whoever was leaving the messages Besides who they were, Keith wanted to know why they were leaving him compliments and little jokes to brighten his day. Anyone who saw him in passing usually thought he was brooding and angry based on his dark wardrobe and how his face just looked angry most of the time, so for a stranger to pay attention to him in a way that wasn’t out of fear made Keith curious. Especially the comment about his eyes.

While things like his bike, hair, and even his personality around friends were things people could pick up on from afar, Keith’s eyes were harder to see. Keith knew that from a distance his eyes just looked dark, and upon first glance they usually looked blue. Shiro told him repeatedly that depending on the day or just what he wore, his eyes changed to be more purple than blue, but that was up close. Whoever left the notes had an up close look at Keith’s eyes and had been able to determine that they weren’t exactly purple or blue.

Smiling at the puzzle, Keith pulled his hair tie free and shook his head before running his fingers through the messy locks. It felt strange to wear his hair off his neck and shoulders, especially when it was one of Keith’s favorite things to hide behind. Pausing in his actions, Keith remembered how Lance complimented him and how casually he played with the strands. Lance rarely touched or said things about something he didn’t like—with the exception of teasing Keith about his mullet which was another argument entirely.

Listening halfheartedly as his professor rattled off the same thing as the last class, Keith pulled his hair back and brushed some of his bangs back from his eyes. It wasn’t much, and it certainly didn’t prove anything, but Keith wanted to see if Lance would say anything about it later.

* * *

There were no new notes for the next week, and Keith felt miserable because of it. Logically he shouldn’t be hung up on a few pieces of paper from a potential stalker, but Keith missed the little messages that brought a smile to his face. To take his mind off the lack of messages he had been getting, Keith channeled his attention into gathering the supplies and asking his friends for their help in making his final art piece for the semester.

After proposing the idea to Lance and getting a huge amount of positive feedback on his idea, Keith hadn’t hesitated to ask the rest of his friends for their participation. Nobody seemed to disagree with getting to splatter some paint on a canvas, and getting to share his love of art with his friends made Keith’s chest swell with pride.

But he still had no idea how he ended up rehearsing Lance’s scene with him for a second time.

“With feeling,” Lance said with frustration, running a hand through his hair, “I’m missing the feeling I need for the scene.”

Grunting at what his friend said, Keith pretended to look over the script when he was really watching Lance. The closer finals crept, the more Lance seemed to commit himself to his role. It was annoying that Plaxum kept canceling their meeting times, but Keith was thankful for it this time. For whatever reason, Lance decided to come in his full costume which consisted of a button-down shirt with jeans. That wasn’t too unusual to see Lance in, especially if he was trying to impress someone, but it was the jacket that made Keith die a little.

A couple weeks before Lance asked if he could borrow one of Keith’s jackets for his scene, promising and making guarantees that he’d give it back right after, so there was no reason to deny him. Lance was always good at returning the things he borrowed from Keith, and it wasn’t like they didn’t see each other almost every day. But seeing Lance adjusting the collar of the dark leather jacket with his hair mussed up made the butterflies in Keith’s stomach do terrible things.

“What emotion are you looking for?” Keith asked, thumbing through the script to look at Lance’s notes.

“Love,” Lance sighed, sitting down on one of the chairs he pulled over, “I need to feel love and anger at the same time, but it’s hard.”

“I get that,” Keith said, eyeing one of Lance’s notes in the corner.

_Indigo_

Even though this raised Keith’s suspicions, he wrote it off as a coincidence. Lance had listed a bunch of other colors throughout his script, explaining that each one gave him a specific feeling or memory that helped him through the lines.

Raising his eyebrow at another one of Lance’s notes, Keith asked, “Do you wanna just go through it like you’re arguing with me?”

“What?” Lance asked, his blue eyes flickering with confusion.

“You know,” Keith shrugged as he thumbed through the script, “Do the scene but pretend we’re arguing. Like that time we talked about whether or not you should refrigerate ketchup.”

That elicited a laugh from Lance. The argument was an old one, but it was one of the most memorable due to how long running it was. Between Keith insisting the condiment should be kept in the fridge and Lance’s week long quips about how it didn’t have to be, everyone they knew heard about the ketchup spat.

“Maybe,” Lance sighed, sounding tired, “I just don’t know if I’m doing this right.”

“I think you are,” Keith said, offering a smile, “You’re good. Most of the time I believe what you’re saying.”

“Really?” Lance asked, his expression lighting up in a way Keith couldn’t describe.

Nodding, Keith tried to make himself busy by fixing his bracelets. He didn’t want to admit it, but he liked hearing Lance give the same confession to him during their rehearsal time. The first few times it was strange and awkward, but now that Keith knew how to act so he could help Lance, he found himself getting lost in the moment. By the time Lance actually gave the confession, Keith was almost sure he meant it.

“Let’s take a break,” Lance suggested, leaning back in his seat, “I’m burned out.”

“Same,” Keith said with a smile, offering the script back, “I don’t know how you can talk for that long without a drink.”

“What can I say?” Lance asked, “It’s a gift.”

“Yeah, the gift of the gab,” Keith snorted as he reached for his sketchbook, “You wanna see the thing I made for Hunk?”

“Sure!” Lance said, scooting his chair over to Keith’s.

Flipping to his page, Keith handed his book over to Lance while he waited for a reaction. If it was anyone else Keith wouldn’t trust them to hold his sketches, but Lance always treated the book with the utmost care and was genuinely interested in what was in it.

“What’re your thoughts?” Keith asked, scanning Lance’s face for something to work with, “Too dark?”

“No, it’s great,” Lance said, a smile creeping onto his face, “I was just wondering what that was.”

Looking at where Lance was pointing, Keith felt his breath hitch at the origami flower. He hadn’t left it out where people could see it, but like an idiot Keith forgot to take it out before handing his sketchbook over to Lance.

“Flower,” Keith said simply, hoping in vain that Lance would drop the subject.

“Well I can see that,” Lance commented, dragging a finger over the folded paper, “Who gave it to you? Allura?”

Shaking his head, Keith cracked his knuckles and tried to think up an excuse. Lying to Lance was hard, and he didn’t want to, but Keith knew how weird it would sound to admit that he had a secret…someone leaving him notes and paper flowers. But it was Lance, and he was more adept at reading people than he usually let on.

Sighing, Keith said, “Someone left it in my locker. Same person has been leaving me notes for a while.”

“Notes?” Lance asked, his brow furrowing as he frowned slightly, “Like what? You’re not being threatened are you?”

“No,” Keith said quickly, eager to defend whoever was giving him the messages, “Nothing bad, just…stuff. I kinda like it.”

“Really?” Lance asked, something akin to hope flashing across his face before being replaced with a smirk, “You have a secret admirer.”

“No I don’t,” Keith snorted, shoving Lance’s arm, “It’s just nice. Admirer would mean there was something about me worth admiring.”

Instead of laughing at the joke, Lance’s expression softened and his eyes locked onto Keith’s. Like he was under a spell, Keith stayed still and maintained eye contact with Lance, unable to break away from the ocean blue of the man’s eyes.

“You’re worth a lot more than you like to admit,” Lance said gently, his voice calm and soothing, “Whoever it is made a wise decision in picking you.”

For a moment Keith felt it hard to breathe. He wasn’t good with expressing his emotions, let alone the ones that were directed towards someone else, but Keith felt like maybe he could kiss Lance and get away with it.

But just as quickly as that thought came to be, the moment was broken and Lance was moving away. Breathing a nervous laugh at his own thoughts, Keith mumbled something to himself while Lance continued to look through his sketchbook, one finger lingering on the edge of the flower that stuck out the top of the book.

Even after packing up his things and making his way home, Keith couldn’t help but think about how Lance behaved once he saw the poppy. It wasn’t much, but something was off with him, and Keith wanted to know why. Maybe it was nerves from not rehearsing enough with Plaxum, but Keith was almost positive something about how he was getting notes bothered Lance, or at the very least it intrigued him.

As if on cue, Keith found another note the next class day. The writing was more careful, like whoever wrote it was suddenly trying to improve their penmanship, but the intent was still there.

_The way you share your time with people is beautiful and selfless_

There was no explanation for the sudden lack of messages, but Keith wasn’t looking for an apology. Now he was more than curious, he was determined to find out who was leaving him the notes. The pinboard covered in notes and messages from his anonymous stranger was more than enough to push Keith into making up his mind. He wasn’t one to sit around and wait, especially when someone was going out of their way to talk to him. Trying to lure out his admirer by playing along with their notes hadn’t worked, and Keith wasn’t going to bother asking around like an idiot would. He was going to wait and see who left him the notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was a thing that happened. Hopefully Keith's plan will work out...hopefully. The movie everyone watched was Death Becomes Her, and I willingly admit it's one of my favorites. 
> 
> The final chapter will be up on Wednesday, April first! (No this is not a joke). I hope you guys enjoyed this segment and will tune in for the final part! Stay safe, remember to drink some water, and stay amazing!
> 
> 3/29/2020


	4. Strength and Courage Compliment an Orchid's Desire and Passion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me so long to write but I love how it turned out. I had so much fun with this and really hope you guys enjoy this last segment!

Two days. Two days of lurking around and keeping an eye on whoever went near his locker and Keith still hadn’t come up with any potential candidates for whoever was leaving him notes. It was frustrating to fail in his poor attempts at stakeouts, but the notes that did manage to slip past him into his locker almost made up for it.

_It’s cute how your nose wrinkles up when you smile_

Bringing a hand up to his face, Keith narrowed his eyes at the note. The message had been written on the back of a small orange envelope with a cat drawn in the top corner, but the words were ridiculously specific. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Keith dragged his hand through his hair and sighed before pocketing the note.

After reviewing his board of notes Keith had a hard time resisting the urge to write down his list of potential suspects. Apart from the compliments about his ass, most of the messages had been about his personality or small details that people would only notice if they were close to Keith. It would’ve been easy to scribble down the few names that could belong to his anonymous admirer, but even Keith knew when to draw the line. Making a list on paper would turn the whole thing into a conspiracy theory and not something sweet and meaningful.

Sighing as a few chattering girls passed by, Keith adjusted his bag on his shoulder before making his way to his next class. In the back of his mind Keith knew that with finals approaching everyone was busy studying and preparing, but it was still frustrating that whenever he turned his back a new note would appear. It was almost like whoever was leaving them knew when Keith was waiting for them. Despite all that, the small envelope with the message written on it was more than enough for Keith to know that his anonymous admirer wanted to continue leaving him notes.

* * *

_Hope your painting goes well today_

Smiling at the blue post-it note he stuck in the front of his sketchbook, Keith looked up from the note to observe his painting. This note was the biggest hint he had received about who his admirer was, and Keith was almost positive he knew who it was, but he was still hesitant about putting a name to all the messages he had been gifted. Keith wasn’t sure what he’d do if he was wrong or how he’d handle the disappointment, so it was just easier to wait for the anonymous admirer to reveal themselves. And if the note was anything to go by, they’d show up today while Keith worked with his friends on his final project.

Getting the large piece of canvas pinned up to the back wall of the art room was easy enough, and after setting down tarps and collecting his other supplies Keith had no trouble starting on his project. While other students worked with graphite and regular sized canvases, Keith couldn’t help but be proud of his ambitious idea.

“So we just throw stuff at it?” Hunk asked hesitantly, a brush held loosely in his hand.

“Yeah,” Keith smiled, stepping back from the canvas to look at it, “I’ll need to take some pictures every now and then, but basically go wild. Do you guys mind if you’re in the frame?”

“Are you kidding me?” Pidge asked as she cracked open the can of electric green paint, “This is the closest to famous I’ll ever be. Get me in as many shots as you can.”

Grinning at Pidge’s eagerness, Keith helped mix a couple cans of paint before stepping back. He had spent a good hour working on it before anyone else had, painting different streaks across the material’s rough surface, using the brushes to splatter the colors around, and he even dragged his fingers through the dripping mess to add texture.

Matt and Shiro had been in earlier to cover that up with their own ideas for the piece. Matt had taken to painting stars and actual shapes on the canvas, filling in the edges and top corners that he could reach and dragging his hands through the wet paint to make long smears of mixed color, while Shiro found his own way of expressing himself. Instead of splattering with the brushes like Keith anticipated, Shiro had dipped his hand in the different paints, leaving handprints of different colors all over the canvas. It was fun and interesting for Keith to see the two friends interact with each other’s additions to the canvas, how Matt would outline Shiro’s handprints or the way Shiro placed several prints around the different shapes to create flowers or other designs.

Allura had dropped by for a few minutes as well. She hadn’t had as much time to spend with Keith, but that didn’t stop her from tearing into the paint. Within minutes of being near the canvas Allura had added different zigzags around the edges of the canvas, a few butterflies in the bottom corner, and enough pink splatters that Keith was thankful he bought extra colors. Even though she got several splotches of paint on her dress and leggings, Allura was only interested in seeing the final product and insisted on giving Keith a hug before she took off towards her next class.

“Seriously man,” Keith said as he gave Hunk’s shoulder a playful shove, “Do whatever you want. Cover things up, make your own, have fun.”

Laughing at the instructions, Pidge dipped a brush into the green before stepping up to the canvas and looking it over. Finally pressing the spongy brush she took against the canvas, Pidge wiggled it around before grinning back at Keith.

“I made a worm,” the girl said, a grin plain on her face as she began to make another squiggly creature.

Stepping back to take a picture of the progress, Keith noticed Hunk begin to make large drips of yellow down the sides of the canvas. Smiling at how willing his friends had been to help him, Keith stepped up to make his own additions of white and red along the top. Between taking pictures of the process and assuring Hunk that it was okay to paint over someone else’s addition, Keith found that the rest of the art students had left the room.

For the whole day the room had different students sitting around working on their projects, be it a painting or a drawing, but now that the afternoon was creeping in on them everyone had left. That did nothing to deter Keith from what he was doing, especially because now he could play his music without anyone complaining about the noise.

“Keith!” Pidge called, pointing to her latest worm, “Look! Is this good?”

“Yeah,” Keith nodded before looking at what Hunk had started.

Aside from the long drips the engineer left on the sides of the canvas, Hunk had started painting what looked like stars and diamonds in different colors, complimenting Matt’s partially covered shapes. Taking a few pictures at the same time Pidge began to splatter purple and white across the length of the canvas, Keith smiled and silently hoped she’d come back after her afternoon classes finished. Out of everyone who had shown up so far, she was the one who didn’t need to study to death in order to pass, and Keith could use as much help in making the piece look different and unique as possible.

“I thought Lance was coming,” Hunk said as he dragged his dripping pink paintbrush through a streak of yellow, tinting some of it to look orange, “Did he get busy?”

“I dunno,” Keith mumbled, looking at his phone for any notifications from Lance, “He hasn’t said anything. He might just be late.”

“He’s not late,” Pidge said with a roll of her eyes, “He just has to make his dramatic entrance.”

As if on cue, the door to the art rook opened to reveal a tired but smiling Lance. Seeing his friend saunter in with a smirk on his face, Keith couldn’t help but smile at the way Lance was able to demand the attention of the room with his presence.

“The party has arrived!” Lance called as he made his way over to look at the progress, “Hey, this is pretty cool.”

“Yeah,” Keith agreed, crossing his arms over his chest to look at what everyone had done so far, “Everyone’s been helping a lot.”

“Show me what you started with?” Lance asked, his smile making Keith’s face warm.

Flicking through his pictures of what everyone had painted so far so Lance could see, Keith kept an eye on what Hunk and Pidge were adding before the two dropped their brushes back in the still full paint cans. Raising an eyebrow at the two, Keith watched Hunk grab his bag before apologizing.

“Sorry, I have a study group,” Hunk explained as he pointed towards the door, “This was fun.”

“No problem,” Keith said, offering Hunk a smile to assure him it was fine to go, “Thanks big man.”

Groaning at how Hunk was leaving, Pidge fell onto her back and whined, “I don’t wanna go to class!”

“Then don’t,” Lance said while he shed his denim jacket, “I’m sure your perfect attendance won’t mind getting a blemish.”

Moving her arms and legs like she was making snow angels, Pidge slapped her hands against the tarp she was lying on before sitting up. Crossing her arms over her chest, Pidge huffed out a sigh and stood up to collect her own things.

“I’ve got to help my mom make dinner for a family thing,” Pidge said as she rubbed at a patch of green paint that dried on her arm, “But if you want I can help with your timelapse. I’ll preview it for you.”

“That sounds great,” Keith agreed, thankful Pidge was willing to be a second set of eyes.

Pushing her glasses up her nose Pidge looked back at the canvas with a proud smile before leaving the art room. Sighing at how tired he suddenly felt, Keith shoved his hands in his pockets before looking at Lance.

“I said to wear something you don’t mind getting paint on,” Keith said as he eyes Lance’s jeans and t-shirt.

“I did,” Lance said with a smile, “Your shoes are all colored.”

Looking down at his formerly black sneakers, Keith breathed a laugh and nodded. Between trying to take pictures and flinging around paint himself, Keith had dripped paint all over his shoes. Smiling at the accidental drips, Keith shrugged it off. Contrary to what people would believe, he actually liked the new random splatters.

“So,” Lance said, capping his hands together as he looked over the canvas, “What are we doing? Just having fun?”

“Pretty much,” Keith said, stooping down to gather some blue onto a brush, “I need to take pictures as we go, but it’ll be fine.”

“Let’s just record it,” Lance said with a grin, “I still have a tripod I need to return to Shay.”

Humming at the idea, Keith nodded and handed his phone to Lance for him to set up. It was a better idea than just taking pictures the whole time.

“I’m gonna work over here,” Keith said, not caring how his brush dribbled paint across the tarp, “Just do what you want. Everyone’s done splatters at some point.”

“Is that a suggestion?” Lance asked as he grabbed a brush of his own, “Or an order?”

Shrugging Keith dragged his brush over the yellow streaks Hunk made. Smiling as the colors mixed a bit to make something similar to green, Keith noticed the way Lance made his own splatters of red and pink across the top of the canvas, a grin on his face as he began to talk about how his dress rehearsal went. Smiling at how Lance explained the details of his performance with Plaxum, Keith changed to a different color and started making his own splatters, larger and messier than Lance’s.

Smirking at how Lance tried to make his own marks larger and brighter, Keith pushed his brush across the canvas onto what Lance had already painted. Laughing at the shocked expression that overtook Lance’s face, Keith dropped his brush back into its paint can.

“Dude!” Lance exclaimed, looking at the blue streak of paint stretching through his area of splatters, “What the heck?”

Shrugging in defense, Keith let another burst of laughter escape him as Lance looked back and forth between him and the canvas. Then—before Keith could react—Lance flicked his paintbrush at Keith. Freezing as the pink paint splattered against him and clung to his shirt and arm, Keith felt his own competitiveness rise up.

“You’re an ass,” Keith said, dipping his brush back into the can of blue.

“You started it,” Lance insisted, as if justifying his actions would save him from his actions, “By messing up my masterpiece you started this war.”

“Oh yeah?” Keith asked, flinging a mess of blue paint at Lance, “Like that?”

Holding still as paint dripped down his shirt, Lance locked eyes with Keith and his blue eyes flashed with excitement. In seconds more paint was being hurled, not at the canvas, but between Keith and Lance. Laughing as he dodged a strike of red from Lance, Keith retaliated with his own attack of blue, not caring how much of a mess he made.

“Hold up!” Lance called, dropping his brush and holding his hands up in surrender, “Hang on! I need a minute.”

“Fine,” Keith snickered, dropping his brush back into its can.

Taking a moment to look at the canvas, Keith sighed at the new additions. Blue streaks and red splatters caught Keith’s attention, the pink Lance had initially been using dripping into the blue and turning it into a pale shade of purple.

“It looks amazing,” Lance said, his tone almost reverent as he joined Keith to look at the canvas, “It’s beautiful.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Keith muttered, “Maybe unique.”

“No,” Lance said, drawing Keith’s attention, “It’s beautiful. Just like you.”

Feeling his breath hitch at the comment, Keith remembered the note that called him beautiful. It was a stretch, and it wasn’t nearly as important as Lance saying it, but Keith could feel his ears get hot at the compliment.

Frowning, Lance said, “You have something on your cheek.”

“What?” Keith asked, bringing a hand up to touch his face, “Where?”

“Right there,” Lance said, his eyes fixated on Keith’s right cheek, “On your jaw.”

Running his fingers over the spot, Keith shook his head and stated, “I can’t find it.”

“Let me,” Lance said, his smile turning into a wide grin.

In an instant, Lance dragged his paint covered fingers across Keith’s face, leaving a sharp line of red going from his jaw up to his eye. Keith almost felt betrayed by Lance’s trick, but he should’ve known better than to accept a ceasefire from the man who had too many siblings. Kneeling down, Keith dipped his fingers in the can of light blue he had before backing Lance up against the wall with a smirk.

You've got something,” Keith said smugly as he pinned Lance against the canvas, “Right. There.”

In a quick movement Keith wiped the blue paint on his thumbs across Lance’s cheekbones. Snickering at the way Lance squirmed out and complained about how cold the paint was, Keith glanced at the canvas before dipping his hands in the paint again. Slapping his hands against the material to leave his handprints, Keith bit his lip as Lance joined in, overlapping the colors they used.

It became a game, seeing who could splatter the canvas without getting hit with the excess, and Keith was sure they were both losing. Lance’s jeans were covered in streaks and smears of paint, and Keith could see how some of the red acrylic clung to strands of his hair.

“I’m done,” Keith finally said, holding his blue hands up and locking eyes with Lance, “For real this time. I’m finished.”

“So soon?” Lance asked, grabbing Keith’s hands with his own red and pink ones, “Things were just getting fun.”

Breathing a laugh at the comment, Keith shook his head and sighed. Lacing their fingers together, Lance swung their joined hands back and forth. Smiling, Lance leaned forward until he was resting his forehead against Keith’s, both of them frozen in the moment and unwilling to break whatever was happening.

“You know,” Lance said softly, his voice barely a whisper, “I have something to give you.”

“Really?” Keith asked, unable to hold back a smile, “What is it?”

Drawing back slightly, Lance took a deep breath before pressing a gentle kiss against Keith’s painted cheek. Flushing at the kiss, Keith pulled back a bit but kept his grip on Lance’s hands tight.

“Is this okay?” Lance asked hesitantly as he rubbed his thumb over the back of Keith’s hand.

“Yes,” Keith said, looking down at his and Lance’s hands, “This is good.”

“Okay,” Lance said with a smile, “I’m gonna kiss you again.”

“Good,” Keith said, meeting Lance’s lips with his own.

It wasn’t anything extravagant. It was just a simple kiss, but somehow that made it all the more precious for Keith. The kiss ended when Lance pulled back a bit and released one of Keith’s hands. Fishing around in his back pocket, Lance produced a blue post-it note that was folded in half.

“You?” Keith asked, his heart beating faster as he eyed the paper.

Pressing the note into Keith’s hand, Lance said, “I thought you’d figure it out.”

“I had a few thoughts,” Keith said, holding the note carefully so he didn’t get paint on it, “A few clues.”

“Like what?” Lance asked with endearing curiosity, “I thought I did a good job of keeping it a secret.”

Smiling, Keith nodded and said, “You are. It was the notes on your script. Indigo. Like my eyes. Being with you just proved it.”

Breathing a laugh that sounded like music, Lance asked, “That’s how you figured it out?”

Shrugging as he fumbled to open the note, Keith added, “Your handwriting was the big clue. I didn’t notice until a while ago, but I can see the similarities.”

Finally getting the note unfolded, Keith bit his lip before reading the words while lance stood across from him, both of them tense with anticipation. Letting his eyes linger on each word, Keith rubbed his fingers against the edges of the paper, his chest filling with warmth at the message.

“I love you too Lance.”

Looking up with mixed emotions, Lance swallowed hard before asking, “Really?”

“Duh,” Keith said, giving the other’s shoulder a light shove, “Why else would I say it?”

“Good point,” Lance muttered, stepping back to look at the new mess they made on the canvas.

It was definitely different from how it started, with much more color and variety to it than Keith originally anticipated. Looking down at his paint stained hands, Keith smiled at how the blue and red they used had blurred together to make a purple. It wasn’t as vibrant as the one Keith bought, but it was special and different. Traces of red and blue still showed on Keith’s hands, and he could see it on Lance’s too, but the purple was what they made together.

* * *

_Your mullet is a little bit cute_

“Only a little bit?” Keith asked as he glanced up from his note, “Really?”

“It’s not bad,” Lance said from where he was sitting across from Keith, “You can’t accept that?”

Rolling his eyes at how his boyfriend refused to admit how his hair wasn’t terrible, Keith took another sip of his milkshake. It was silly how Lance kept giving him notes even after finding out he was the one leaving them, but Keith couldn’t help but admit how much he loved them.

“Do I at least get a kiss?” Lance asked, leaning across the table, “I really need one. It’s been all day.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Keith said with a shake of his head and a smirk.

“Yes I am,” Lance smiled, “And I’m not changing that anytime soon.”

“Good,” Keith said as he quickly pressed a kiss against Lance’s lips, “I like you the way you are.”

“Love you too flor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! One of my friends actually did the art project I used for Keith's because I thought it was so much fun. I really hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I loved writing this! I have more stories planned for the future and hope you'll check them out!
> 
> If anyone has any suggestions or things they'd like to see in a future fanfic please don't hesitate to ask! My tumblr and instagram are linked in the first chapter. Thank you for reading this and remember to stay safe, drink some water, nd get some sleep!
> 
> 4/1/2020

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea stuck in my head for a while and figured I had to write it sooner or later! I hope you guys liked this first installment of this silly idea I had. I love the meanings different flowers hold and hope I can incorporate that into this fanfic!
> 
> Please check me out as sleepyssnail on both my [tumblr](https://sleepyssnail.tumblr.com/) and my [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/sleepyssnail/) if you want to send me some prompts for writing or edits or just talk!


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